After making a giant fuss back in December to protest their sponsor rating – and winning their appeal – Newark City Schools has apparently decided to forego sponsoring any charter schools after all for 2018-19. Wonder what changed? Anywho, that’s bad news for students at the district-sponsored dropout recovery school, which is now permanently closed. Whether those students will find a proper landing spot in the district’s own new online program remains to be seen. However, this development is good news for the bricks-and-mortar Par Excellence Academy, which will not only remain in business (sponsored by the Ohio Department of Education) but will actually be able to grow. Despite the fact that Par Excellence families had apparently been begging for a sixth grade class for years, the school was forbidden by the district from expanding as part of the sponsorship contract in order to minimize “competition” and to make sure “their kids” were back in the district (in their coffers, I mean) as soon as possible. Thank goodness that foolishness is at an end. (Newark Advocate, 7/6/18)